Decorative footwear



1942- v L. A. LANGENDORF 2,

DECORATIVE FOOTWEAR Filed Feb. 6, 1939 ?atented Feb. 3, 3942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DECORATIVE FOOTWEAR Leone Avey Langendori, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application February 6, 1939, Serial No. 254,798

2 Claims.

My invention relates generally to footwear and more particularly to decorated or fancy slippers and has for itsprincipal object, the provision of footwear that includes the conventional sole and heel and an upper that may be formed in a single piece or composed of a vamp portion with straps that pass over the instepand behind the heel and, which upper is composed wholly or partially of thin, flexible material in order that it will readily conform to the shape of the foot, said material being transparent in order to render visible that portion of the stocking that is covered by the upper.

A further object of my invention is, to combine with the footwear upper, distinctive decorative elements, for instanceyinserts of thin, flexible material, shaped and colored to represent flowers, butterflies, birds, and the like, thus imparting to the footwear novel, attractive, and pleasing decorative efiects.

A further object of my invention is, to provide decorative footwear, particularly slippers, where the uppers and particularly the vamp portions thereof and the rear and side surfaces of the heel bear the same distinctive decorative efiects. or motifs, thereby adding materially to the attractiveness of the footwear.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts that will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a slipper constructed in accordance with my invention and showing the vamp portion of the slipper bearing as a decoration, the representation of a butterfly.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the vamp portion of the slipper seen in Fi 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of a slipper wherein the entire upper, the heel strap, and the rear and side surfaces of the heel, bear the same decorations, for instance, the representation of a flower, bud, or leat.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a slipper wherein the vamp portion bears decorations shaped and colored to represent birds.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross section taken approximately on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing and particularly to the construction illustrated in Fig. 1 and 2, i0 designates the conventional sole of a dress slipper, and extending upwardly and rearwardly from said sole is the arch or instep portion II that is connected to and rests on the heel I 2.

Suitably secured by stitching or adhesive to the upper edge of the sole is a vamp I3 that is formed from thin, flexible, transparent material, such as Cellophane, and which in order to increase the attractiveness of the decorative efiect may be gathered along a medial line. Applied to said g athered portion is a decorative member M which may be composed of any suitable thin, light weight material, althoughI prefer to construct this member from plaited, braided, or shirred, thin, flexible, transparent material, such as Cellophane.

Imprinted on the side portions of the vamp, preferably in natural colors, are the representations E5 of the wings of a butterfly and the same are arranged so that the decorative member it overlies the body portion of the representation. Obviously, this decoration l5 might take the form of bright colored flowers, leaves, or the wings of birds having bright colored plumage. The decoration l5 applied to the vamp may be placed either on the under surface of the thin, flexible, trans= parent material, or on the outer surface thereof. A variation of this arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 5 wherein the vamp comprises an outer layer of thin, flexible, transparent material its and an inner layer 93?; is'oi the same material, with a separately formed decorative member, such as the representation of a butterfly, a flower or flowers, or a bird or birds, it, positioned between the layers I3a and it?) where it is protected and at the same time it produces the desired decorative effect.

Secured to the rear portion of the sole, preferably to the sides of the instep portion i i, is a strap ll, preferably formed of thin, flexible, transparent material, which is adapted to pass behind the heel of the wearer of the slipper, and a decorative strap 18 is secured to the sides of said strap I1 and passes around the front of the wearers foot, just above the instep.

In the modified construction illustrated in Fig. 3, the entire upper and vamp portion is is formed from thin, flexible, transparent material, such as Cellophane, and which is gathered or folded transversely so that the material conforms to the shape of the forward portion of the foot and toes, and applied to the material i 9 either to the outer or inner surfaces thereof or between two layers of thin material that form the upper, are decorations 2'0, preferably bright colored flowers or leaves.

Secured to the sides of the instep portion of the sole, just in front of the heel, are the lower ends of a heel surrounding strap 2! formed of the same material that is utilized in the upper 19 and this strap bears the same decorations as the upper I 9.

In order to complete the decorative ensemble of the slipper, the rear and side surfaces of the heel have applied thereto the same decorations 20 that appear on the upper l9 and strap 2|.

To further increase the decorative effect, a strip of flexible material bearing a row of brilliants or so-called rhinestones 22 may be applied to the upper IS on a medial line extending from the toe portion to the top of said upper.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 4, the vamp portion 23 of the slipper is formed from thin, flexible, transparent material, such as Cellophane, and applied thereto are decorations 24 simulating the wings of birds having bright colored plumage, or sprays of flowers, or bright colored foliage. In this particular construction, crossed straps 25, preferably of thin, flexible, transparent material, are arranged so that they pass over the instep of the wearers foot, and arranged at the crossing point of these straps is a decorative buckle or pin 26. Extending upwardly and rearwardly from the rear portion of these straps 25, is a heel encircling strap 21, preferably formed of thin, flexible, transparent material, and which may be provided with a decorative pin or buckle 28.

Cellophane and other thin, flexible, transparent material, is now readily obtainable in the open market and such material may be had in various colors, so that by using differently colored material and by properly combining the colors, it is possible to produce footwear such as dress slippers that are particularly attractive from a decorative standpoint, inasmuch as the slippers may be produced in different colors and color combinations to match the gowns with which the slippers are worn.

In some instances, the footwear may be produced without the use of straps and where such construction is employed the vamp or upper is extended rearwardly around the heel seat of the sole after the manner of conventional dress slippers.

To add to the effectiveness of the footwear,

- buckles, pins, or like deco ative elements containing precious or semi-precious stones or bril- Obviously, the decorated footwear may be worn without stockings and when so worn the footwear provides an attractive and distinctive effect on the bare foot.

liants, may be utilized on the vamps and straps of the footwear.

Footwear constructed in accordance with my invention may be utilized for sportswear or as play shoes, and in such case the decorative elements may take the place of the representations of butterflies, birds, flowers, feathers, and the like, that are cut from bright colored material, for instance, felt or fabric that match the suits with which the footwear are worn.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided decorative footwear that is relatively simple in con struction, inexpensive of manufacture and very effective in performing the functions for which it is intended.

It will be understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved decorative footwear may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described, without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. As a new article of manufacture, decorative footwear comprising a sole, a heel, an upper applied to said sole, which upper comprises two separate layers of thin, flexible, transparent material, one lying directly upon the other and a decorative element arranged between said layers of material.

2. A new article of manufacture as set forth in claim 1 and with a decorative member applied to the outer surface of the overlying layer of thin, flexible, transparent material.

LEONE AVEY LANGENDORF. 

